A blog containing the first seventy-five items from the Anderson collection
have been posted to a blog by Huronia Museum volunteer Bill Gibson. However the real herculean effort has been made by Peter Davis who transcribed several hundred handwritten documents. He is a bona fide expert in 19th century handwriting styles. Peter is a member of the museum board.
Thomas Gummersall Anderson, British Army, trader, Indian Agent, b. at Sorel, Province of Quebec, 12 Nov. 1779, sixth son of Captain Samuel Anderson, loyalist, and Deliverance Butts; d. at Port Hope, Ont., 10 Feb. 1875.
This blog contains selected items from the collection of the Huronia Museum in Midland, Ontario, Canada. The Huronia Museum wishes to gratefully acknowledge this donation from Pam Dunlop, a descendant of Thomas Anderson.
Captain Thomas Gummersall Anderson
was hired by the Indian Department of the British Army in 1815 and for the next 50 years was responsible for Indian policy in Upper Canada. He established the first Indian reserve at Coldwater, Ontario in 1830.
Captain Anderson was a gifted writer, combining a clear eye with a gift for narrative, and his wor k may be appreciated on this level alone. But his life – all those 96 years – also provides much more of interest, encompassing the major themes of his times: the United Empire Loyalist experience, the early settlement of Upper Canada, mercantile life (in Kingston), the fur trade in the upper Mississippi region, the War of 1812, and 43 years in the service of the Indian Department of Upper Canada (later Canada West). And then, with his retirement in 1858, he added the experiences of a gentleman farmer to this extensive resumé.
The Huronia Museum is assembling a collection of his papers and ephemera related to this period. Among the letters is one describing the events of the 1837 Rebellion. There are many letters to and by members of his family, especially his wife Betsy – b. 17 Sept. 1796 d. 30 June 1858 (Cobourg).
Huronia Museum 